This is a great way to get that mellow garlic flavor from cooking garlic without having to make icky, sticky, messy roasted garlic.Plus when you are done, you have a couple cups of nicely flavored olive oil.

Get yourself a couple heads of garlic. Peel each clove, I like to smash them with the flat of a knife until the skin cracks and then peel the skin off.

Place the cloves in about 2 cups of olive oil in a small saucepan.

Slowly heat the pan over a low flame, until the oil reaches 200 degrees, it should be bubbling just a little bit. If the garlic starts to brown, or fry, remove it from the heat for 2 minutes until it cools down. The trick is to keep the oil at about 200 degrees.

Cook for about 20-30 minutes or until the garlic gets real soft (your cooking time may vary, I test the garlic periodically)

Strain it and store it in the fridge, if you store it in just enough fresh olive oil to cover it it will keep for a very long time. You can also strain and freeze them.

Its very good smashed up on toast mixed with a bit of tapenade or used in place of raw garlic in all your dishes. Be sure to add it at the end of the cooking process.

According to Better Homes and Gardens, here are some uses for roasted garlic that are also applicable to the much more superior garlic slow cooked in olive oil.

  1. Toss with hot cooked pasta and Parmesan cheese.
  2. Add a tablespoon or two to hot potatoes when mashing.
  3. Mash and stir into mayonnaise or salad dressing and use in dressings for meat salads, such as chicken, or vegetable salads, such as potato.
  4. Add to cream soups, such as potato or onion, seasoning to taste.
  5. Mash and stir into plain soft-style cream cheese along with some Italian seasoning or lemon-pepper seasoning to spread on crackers.
  6. Combine with softened margarine or butter and use for basting chicken.
  7. Stir into cooked rice pilaf or lentils.
  8. Add to your favorite white sauce and serve over steamed vegetables or broiled fish.
  9. Combine with sour cream to serve atop baked potatoes.
  10. Stir into melted margarine or butter and drizzle over baked fish or serve as a dipping sauce for lobster.

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